Overshadowed
by FrostedPurpleIrises91
Summary: Nine years ago, a young girl witnessed a traumatizing event that was erased from her memory. However, over those years, she had been watched from afar and kept in mind as prey for a certain faceless creature. Now fifteen, she unwittingly comes closer to the entity once more in a way that she thought was simply not possible. T for strong violence and adult language.
1. Marked

**Hey, thank you for even clicking on this thing and giving it a go! I appreciate it :) So for about the past two weeks or so, I've been slowly developing an obsession with the Slenderman mythos/story. Yes, I know he's not real (thank God or we'd all be fucked) but he's still a terrifying and intriguing monster so much so that I've written this little story, watched all the Marble Hornets episodes and so on and so forth. I also know people portray him in many different ways and that's cool because I've done the same. Sure, he's a murdering entity that doesn't give a crap about who he hunts really but I think he has a little more depth/personality than being a entity of pure and unreasonable intent. ****Hopefully you'll see what I mean as the story goes on and hopefully you'll like that portrayal. **

**For now, this story is going to be a oneshot. I've actually thought up of a longer, multi-chapter story that would commence after this first "chapter" but for the time being, I'm going to see if I can come up with more ideas that'll possibly help to transform this oneshot to a full blown story. Heck, if you even have any ideas to share, lemme hear it! I'll listen to what you have to say and possibly consider/include it.**

**Anyway, please read on! Any constructive criticisim/feedback/reviews are great and much appreciated too. I hope you enjoy this~**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Slenderman...only the OCs in this story.**

Chapter 1 Marked

She knew better.

Her mother and father had told her time and time again of what should possibly await her if she had defied their loving yet stern orders. Normally, she was a good girl who didn't usually test the wisdom and authority of her parents. The child thought that she would always abide by the warning they reminded her of, especially whenever they went to the playground. Perhaps just one tiny slipup and exception couldn't be that bad… She'd do it once and then never do it again.

Today, that sacred, golden rule was broken.

Quinn thought the person crouching in the evergreen bush was playing a game with her and she assumed it was a fellow child like herself. They called out softly to her and whispered too quietly. Because of that, she had to the darkened corner of the playground where that unidentifiable soul hovered. As it turned out, it was no six year old child like herself. Instead, it appeared to be a man who was older than her own parents but not quite as elderly as her grandparents.

"_Can I help you, mister? I can't stay here with you. My mommy and daddy told me I can't talk to people I don't know."_

The smile on his face was twisted and hinted to the vile thoughts running through his perverted, deviant mind. Quinn thought he was only making a face like this for the sake of being silly and she giggled at his expression. She was too young to understand or even suspect his true motives.

"_Darling, I was wondering if you could possibly help me with a problem I have… You see, I have too much leftover Halloween candy from last week and I don't know what to do with it all. Perhaps you'd like a bag of it to take home with you?"_

The man lurking in the bushes lifted up a sample of the candy that he held in his hand. It just so happened to be her favorite type too; Kit-Kat bars.

Quinn looked over her shoulder to see what her mother was doing. She was chatting away on her phone, not even looking in her daughter's direction. Undoubtedly, she was still talking with her husband. The child refocused her attention on the man after watching her mother for a few seconds.

"_I love Kit-Kats!"_

"_That's all I needed to hear…"_

Before she could even react, the man placed a large, leathery hand over her mouth. The suddenness of the action made Quinn yelp in surprise but the volume of her cry was drowned out. Hastily, he scooped her up of the ground and hurried over to the parking lot to where his car sat.

Quinn had never felt such deep, abysmal terror before. This fear she was experiencing was far greater than any suspicion of some boogieman dwelling underneath her bed or within the confines of her closet. She was being taken away from the safety of the playground and her mother with every step that he took. Now, she was at the mercy of this deceitful pedophile. Paralysis had gripped her and at first she failed to fight back because she was so horrified and caught off guard. But as time painfully went by, Quinn at last mustered up the courage to fight back. She flailed and squirmed around his hold, desperate to free herself.

When they got closer to the car, the trunk opened up. Quinn's hazel colored eyes widened in horror when she realized what was going to happen next. She screamed through the muzzle that was still over her mouth but it still wasn't audible enough to gain anyone's notice. Reacting in natural self defense and with desperation clutching her, she bit down into her captor's hand as hard as she could.

The man quaked in pain and tried to pull his hand away but her jaws held strong onto him. His blood dripped into her mouth and onto her tongue, making the little girl release him. She spit it out and cringed at the rancid taste it left in her mouth but she recollected herself. Quinn screeched as loudly as she could, hoping her mother would hear her.

Her wail lasted only for a few fleeting seconds before her abductor harshly chucked her into his trunk. He slammed it shut, forcing her to deal with the sweltering and enclosed darkness. Quinn pounded against the interior of the trunk and continued screaming. A confluence of tears poured from her eyes and she was almost convulsing in fear.

The car rumbled to life as the child molester ignited the engine. Quinn was tossed around in the trunk as he threw the car into reverse and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. Tires screamed piercingly and she could hear the gears shift as he shifted the car from reverse to drive. The engine revved louder as he drove out of the parking lot and down the road. Despite this, Quinn continued to wildly buck around inside the trunk, refusing to have further distance placed between herself and her mother. She screamed so hard that her vocal cords burnt and she coughed from winding herself.

A few minutes passed and her energy was fully expended. Her throat hurt her and she was drenched in her own sweat and tears. Quinn's little chest heaved up and down as she struggled to breathe in the hot space. At this point, it was obvious to her that she had lost and she was kidnapped. Her mother didn't hear her in enough time and he was too strong…

Sniffling, she lied down and closed her eyes. The youngster curled up in a fetal position and lost all hope…

(…)

It seemed like hours to Quinn but in reality, it was about a half an hour. She could feel and hear the car shut off. Quinn gasped in surprise at this and tensed up. Fearful of what awaited her, she crawled into a corner and pulled her knees up to her chest. The driver door opened and then closed a second later. His footsteps inched closer to the back of his vehicle.

Light suddenly flooded the trunk as it opened up. She cringed at this as her eyes adjusted to the change. Quinn whimpered and refused to look back at him.

"Oh, so now you lost your fight, you little shit," he hissed.

"I don't wanna die!" she cried, her tears returning.

"I'm not gonna kill you, honeybunch… just rape you is all."

It was a familiar word to her but she had no idea what it meant really. She heard it mainly on the news and when she did hear about it, her parents often held their hands over her ears or told her to go play in her room. All Quinn knew was that it was a bad thing that people got sent to jail for.

"Get out," he commanded.

"I'm t-too scared…" she stammered. Her innocence and terror didn't move his heart. He felt no pity or mercy towards her. "Please, take me home! I miss my mommy and daddy!"

"No. Get out. I don't have all day."

He ended up not waiting for her because he found himself lifting her up out of the trunk. Confident that she would not go anywhere, he set her down on her feet. He was sure that the location that he drove to would possibly discourage her from wandering too far if she did decide to run away.

Quinn's eyes scanned the area that she now found herself in. As far as her little eyes can peer into, there were dense woodlands. Even though it was November and the trees were quite bare of their leaves, she could still hardly identify any landmarks to help her realize where she was. The only thing she spotted that seemed to be of interest was an old, weathered shack off to her right. It looked as if it was once abandoned for a number of years but now it seemed as if someone was frequenting it again.

"Where are we?" she asked. A chill ran up her spine.

"Middle of nowhere," was her captor's curt reply.

In all honesty, Quinn liked the woods. Her father was a wildlife officer at the local nature park and his love of flora and fauna had rubbed onto his daughter. She and her parents had gone on camping trips a few times and she always had fun during those excursions. She had often begged her parents to move out of their home in the suburbs and live in a cottage at the foot of the woods.

But for some reason, these woods unnerved her. There seemed to be something odd about them. She heard no animals. There seemed to be no breeze or no racket caused by loose twigs falling to the forest floor. It seemed as if all life had vacated the area for some reason.

Quinn wrapped her arms around her body to give herself a hug. She blew her brown bangs of her eyes since they tickled her eyelashes. Nervously, she faced the adult who was standing by her.

Just as she had done, moments earlier, he was studying his sylvan surroundings. His eyes narrowed as he looked for something unusual blending in amongst the thin and tall trees. For as long as he perused his environment, his pulse steadily climbed and he could feel sweat moisten his palms. The days before he abducted Quinn certainly gave him reason to be cautious of the area. Now, he wondered if it was even a good idea to stick around despite the fact he had found a shack where he could indulge in his disgusting lust. What he did know was that he knew he was not alone and he was sharing these woods with someone else.

"Whoever you are, you need to fuck off!" he yelled to the woods. "This is my piece! If I see you come near my shed again, I will kill you, you skinny piece of shit!"

Quinn had no idea what was going on or what he was talking about. She fidgeted in discomfort and tilted her head downwards. She closed her eyes and never wished so hard to go home.

(…)

It was sacrilege. It was an anathema.

Ever since this loathsome man had ventured into the woods to scout out an area to fulfill his fantasies, he had been watching him. He had been manifesting out of the corner of the pedophile's eye, subtly alerting him of his presence and appearing amongst the trees in the distance, often making him question if what he had seen was real. With every day that passed, he drew closer to the invader, testing him and wanting to see his reactions. As expected and like so many others before, he responded to his presence with growing fear and disbelief. However, even with the fear gnawing at his being, he sought to puff out his chest and act as if he was the one who should be doing the intimidating. He gave the molester some credit solely because of the bravery he laid out despite his insecurities.

Very quickly, the tall and slender entity had discovered the reason why this Human was trespassing in his woods. He had seen what lied in his heart and all he could do was laugh silently at his cowardice. Pedophiles disgusted him and he heartily detested them even though mortals had often accused and theorized him of being a pedophile as well which was untrue. He hunted whoever had crossed into his domain or had caught his attention, regardless of how old they were.

But what really angered him was that this intruder had boldly brought a child into his woods to rape her. He had not given him permission of any kind to even do such a thing. The ignorant mortal was going to desecrate his home by committing this unholy and abominable act. That was something he refused to watch or allow to become a reality. As far as he was concerned, this rapist's time had run out.

Silently, he approached.

(…)

A minute or two had gone by since he had addressed whatever had been stalking him for the past few days. Nothing had replied back to him. Then again, considering his torturer had no mouth, let alone a face, he didn't necessarily expect him to reply. He had only hoped that his warning would be good enough and the being would keep his distance.

Quinn still had her gaze glued to the ground. Mournfully, she looked at the golden and orange leaves beneath her shoes. She was doing her best to try to ignore everything going on around her and to try to think less of her fate. Then she bent down and picked up a crimson maple leaf. With a gentle caress, her fingers ran across the leaf.

Before she could be done with fully admiring the leaf, her company slapped it out her hand. She looked up at him, seeing a heavy frown on his face.

"Let's go in," he instructed. "I didn't bring you here so you can play with goddamn leaves."

"Please, why can't you just let me go?!" the child pleaded. "I want to go home!"

"You're not going anywhere until I get what I want! Hell, I don't think I ever will take you home! Depends really on you, girly…"

"My mommy and daddy are gonna get the cops and you'll be sorry!" Anger mixed in with her terror. "Then they'll put you in jail where bad people like you belong!"

He raised his hand to strike her. Quinn buried her face in her hands, afraid of even trying to run away since she believed he would catch her. She braced herself for the smack.

The little girl continued to wait as the seconds went by but she felt no pain that she expected from the slap. Daring to see what was going on, she lowered her hands and faced him. She saw that his hands hung limply at his side and his eyes were fixed on something standing behind her where the shack stood. His face looked washed out and pale. He looked as if he had seen a monster.

Quinn felt extremely cold and goose bumps swelled up on her arms even though her jacket insulated her. Her instincts told her to just run and not even bother to look back. But her curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to see what exactly made her keeper so spooked.

She turned around and saw what he saw…The little one had no idea what to think or what exactly she was looking at.

A very tall, pale and slender person was standing at the foot of the shack, blocking the entrance. He was dressed in a jet black business suit complete with a blood red tie. His arms were freakishly long and even his fingers seemed lengthier than normal. The man's most unusual and probably most disturbing feature (or lack thereof) was that he had no face. No eyes, no mouth, no nose… It was nothing more than a blank, white head. Although he had no eyes, it seemed as if he was staring directly at them.

The macabre staring contest lasted between the three of them for a minute before the Human male spoke up.

"You..!" he said through gritted teeth. "I told you to leave me alone! This is none of your business! Go back to the trees!"

"_No,_" Slenderman's voice spoke to him in his head. The voice sounded very hollow and reminded him of a whisper yet it maintained an echo of some sort. "_This is my forest. I am the one who should be ordering you to leave, you insignificant and unimportant mortal. You are desecrating my home with your presence. I am also very much aware of your motives._"

"Just leave me alone!" He continued to speak out loud. "You're the one bothering me! Go away!" The Slenderman said nothing in reply to him. Four tentacles materialized out of his back and made their way towards the pedophile. "JESUS CHRIST!"

He turned to run but he didn't make it far. Each tentacle ensnared a limb and began to drag him back to his body. The man screamed at the top of his lungs as he dug his fingernails into the earth. His arms ached and burned as he struggled to anchor himself but his strength was inferior in comparison to Slenderman's. The being was determined to do what he pleased and there was utterly no hope for his victim.

Amidst all of this, Quinn stared. She fell to her knees and watched what was unfolding with huge eyes. Her mouth hung agape as she sat mesmerized by the attack and the capabilities of the faceless man. Obviously, this was no ordinary person and right away, she saw that there was no way he could be Human.

"FUCK!" he exclaimed. "OH, FUCK!"

As Quinn's please for mercy fell on deaf ears, his own requests were ignored too. Slenderman lifted him up with the shadowy tendrils, holding him about twelve feet off the ground. The tentacles tightened around his wrists and his ankles. The man continued to clamor and scream, hoping that someone would come to his rescue or the tall being would actually show him mercy.

"PLEASE, I'LL NEVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN!" he pleaded once more.

"_Indeed, you won't,_" the ghostly voice said in his head.

With one swift and powerful motion of his tentacles moving in perfect unison, he pulled on the man's limbs. A sickening cracking noise followed by the sound of a wet rip travelled through the air. The molester had no chance to even cry out in agony as he was literally torn into quarters. Blood and miscellaneous organs had gruesomely rained down the twelve feet and splattered onto the leafy forest floor. The quarters of the corpse's body still hung in the grip of the Slenderman, still leaking blood and revealing various bones, tendons and ligaments.

Quinn's jaw dropped even further when she witnessed the gory spectacle. Her color had paled considerably and she was so frozen with disbelief and terror that she looked like a living statue. She was so afraid that she didn't know whether to scream, run, cry or hide her face. Her young eyes were fixed on the Slenderman as she awaited his next move.

Slenderman smiled an invisible smile at the deed he had committed. His anger had all but dissipated with the intruder's death and he had felt peace and composure return to his being. The kill was satisfying and he felt appeased that he had restored the hallowedness of his territory. He wallowed in it for a moment before he then flicked his tentacles. His grip on the quarters was released and they went off flying into different directions in the woods. They crashed loudly a few seconds later and then silence presided once more. Then he turned his expressionless and empty face to the child he saved as a result of killing her captor.

Her little heart thumped rapidly in her chest and her eyes widened even further as his eyeless gaze stared back at her. Quinn had no clue what to make of him since he had no face. In her mind, he had rescued her and spared her from a grim fate. This led her to believe that maybe he was a "good guy" of some sort. If he was a good guy, maybe she did have nothing to fear. She would have to thank him for it, regardless of if he was a Human or something else.

"T-th-thank you, Mister…" Quinn forced words out of her mouth. "You saved me!"

Slenderman didn't retort. Now that the immediate threat was properly disposed of, now he could give his undivided attention to the little Human. He studied her silently and carefully, wondering if she was worth hunting. The pale one held no real contempt towards her since she was brought into his home against her will and she had no idea that she was even entering the woods. She was no drunken teenager who entered his domain for a hazing ritual or some arrogant daredevil who did not believe in legends Slenderman had been the source of. He was also feeling quite sated with killing the man earlier anyway.

"_I will not hunt you now, child,_" he spoke to her. "_However, I will remember you and keep you in mind for future reference. I promise you that one day, we will meet again. Until then, farewell…_"

Before she could further process his words and get past the eeriness of his voice, a tentacle wafted towards her. Quinn twitched in fear when this happened since the pedophile's ghastly demise was still as fresh as ever in her mind. Slenderman halted the progression of the tentacle for a brief moment when he noticed her panic. He then continued but went at a slower place.

The tip of the tendril touched her on her forehead and then all went black in her world as she lost consciousness.

(…)

Margo Snyder refused to let go of her daughter's hand as she sat by the hospital bed that bore Quinn's unconscious form. She was only missing for two hours before she was discovered in the woods but those were the most taxing and terrifying two hours of her life. Mrs. Snyder received no real details about the scene where her child was discovered or what happened to the man who kidnapped her but the police who found her had said that it was best that the details would not be discussed for the time being. What they did tell her was that the kidnapper was found brutally mutilated. Although he was found in a horrid condition, not a hair was harmed on her daughter.

Her husband, James, was on his way from his assignment in some woods in the next county over to check up on his child's welfare. As soon as he heard his wife scream into the phone and she fearfully explained to him that she couldn't see their daughter but heard her, he had dropped what he was doing and hopped into his car. Margo was now expecting him to rush into the room any minute now…

"I'm sorry, angel," she whispered as she stroked Quinn's hand. "I should've put the damn phone and watched you more closely… Oh God, we are so lucky that they found you…" Margo sighed heavily and let a few tears drip down her face.

As she held Quinn's hand, she could feel the littler female's hand clench around hers. A joyous smile formed on Margo's face and her tears of sorrow were now tears of happiness. She leaned in closer to the hospital bed and kissed her on her forehead.

"Wake up, honey," she encouraged her.

Sleepily, Quinn's eyelids parted. She stretched in the bed and faced her mother. Her eyes blinked a few times as she took a few moments to process everything. A tiny grin appeared on Quinn's face for as long as she looked at her mother.

"Mommy…" she still sounded a little exhausted. "What am I doing here?"

"The police found you in the woods. You fainted."

"The man..!" Quinn's eyes widened. She remembered him telling her to go into the shack but after that, she didn't recall anything else.

"You don't have to worry about him anymore. He'll never hurt you or anyone else ever again." Margo wouldn't even dream of telling her that he was torn to pieces.

"The police found me and took me here?"

"Yes, they did, honey. Don't worry. Just relax, okay. Daddy's on his way here. In fact, he should be coming in at any moment." She paused and laughed softly. "You know, I think your guardian angel was watching over you today."

Quinn didn't say anything to her mother after she said that latter statement. It looked as if the little girl was deep in thought. Her brows furrowed and she stared at the outline of her body beneath the thin blanket.

"Mommy, I had a dream," she finally said.

Margo's felt an unexplainable and unaccounted sense of anxiety fill her. She refused to let her daughter notice this and she forced herself to keep smiling.

"Well, tell me about it, Quinn," Margo urged.

"I dreamt about someone who lived in the woods," Quinn regaled the tale to her mother. "I didn't see him because it was night in my dream and he was hiding behind trees. He told me that we were going to meet again…" Lightheartedly, she giggled and she shot her mother a sunny smile. "Maybe that was my guardian angel talking to me in my dream!"

Margo began to feel dread swelling in her heart. The fact that her daughter was located in an infamous part of the woods didn't help to soothe her suspicions and nerves. For many decades, there were stories of unexplainable happenings, unsolved disappearances and grisly murders that were all centralized within that area. She herself had heard such tales while growing up but she dismissed many of them and believed they were all stories crafted by parents who were attempting to spook their children into maintaining good behavior. Although she didn't believe in them, she never bothered to venture into the cursed zone. In fact, as far as she could recall, only suicidal or insane souls entered the dark woods…a great many of them never emerged.

The fact that her daughter's abductor was violently slain seemed to add only more credibility to the tales. The dead featured in the legends were often discovered impaled in the canopies of trees, found maimed and oftentimes cremated instead of given a burial, or had the vital organs strung up on branches, much like a gruesome garland. The culprit was never caught or brought to justice but he had been seen before by people who then ended up dead a few weeks, months or even years after their first encounter with him.

Margo knew then just how lucky Quinn was to even be in the hospital. She didn't want to admit it right away but she wondered…perhaps her child had been spared by the Slenderman.

* * *

**So...is it okay as a oneshot or would you like to see this expanded into a bigger story? You can either PM me about it or give your opinion in a review. Honesty is appreciated! Thank you and I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Besiege

**Alright, so here we go, it's the first step in this plan to make this a bigger story. I decided to jump right into some drama and introduce another creepypasta in this chapter so if it seems a little rushed, I apologize. This also takes place nearly a decade after what happened in the earlier section so Quinn is a teenager now. Hopefully you guys like it and I kinda wondered if this would be good enough or not but I'll let you guys be the judge. Anyway, please enjoy and don't be afraid to critique/review as always!**

Chapter 2 Besiege

(nine years later)

The teenage girl was just happy that her father had returned safely. When he had returned home one evening covered in dirt, grass and along with several large slash marks in his jacket, Quinn was horrified for his wellbeing. Luckily, James had not suffered any serious physical wounds except some bruises and nicks on his arms but the emotional trauma he received was far worse. He was not a man who would be spooked very easily and it was painfully clear that he was obviously shocked and horrified with what happened to him. When he burst through the front door, looking like a mess and frightening his daughter and wife, he could hardly even speak to them. He stuttered and stammered for a good while before he finally regained his composure in order to tell his family his tale.

While Quinn and her mother were happily nestled within the sanctuary of their suburban home, Mr. Snyder went off into the nature reserve he was employed at to conduct business as usual. His agenda for the day had entailed checking trap cameras along game trails for any signs of poachers that had been harassing the local black bear population. Everything went along without any event and as far as he could see on the cameras, there didn't seem to be shadily dressed Humans in guns and dragging bear traps behind them. All the cameras revealed were shots of deer passing by on the trail or bears scratching their backs on trees.

However, as the day went on, the boredom disappeared very quickly. After checking the camera traps, James decided to take a hike through the area for a little patrol. All he brought with him was a large walking stick and a pistol that he kept in its halter on his hip. He hiked along one of the lesser traversed trails, wondering if he could possibly find some signs of poachers. Perhaps they'd stay away from the more heavily trafficked game trails and stick to bushwhacking to avoid being caught by rangers like himself.

As Quinn and Margo continued to listen to his tale, they wondered just what happened to him. From what they were hearing so far, nothing extraordinary seemed to be occurring. The suspense was starting to poke and prod at them. They had a few ideas as to what might've happened to him but both women decided to let him tell the story without interrupting him with questions.

"_Then…"_ _Mr. Snyder put his hand on his forehead and whimpered softly. He wiped a bead of sweat away and paused for a moment to regain his composure. His wife and daughter gazed back at him expectantly yet calmly as they allowed him to recollect his thoughts. "There was something rustling around in some ferns off to my right. It was about ten feet away or so and I swiveled my torso to look in that direction. It was lying low in the ferns and it was growling and snarling. I thought it was a fox at first because I couldn't see it underneath those plants. I held my ground because I wondered if perhaps this fox was either rabid or injured from the racket it was making. But I realized it wasn't a fox…" His jaw dropped as he recalled on the memory that was burnt into his being for eternity. "It poked its head up from the ferns and stared directly at me… I-it had a human like face but there was definitely something animalistic about it. It had these jet black eyes and a mouth filled with tiny but razor sharp teeth… As we stared at each other longer, it slowly crawled further out of the ferns towards me and I got a really good look at it. It looked human…it had two arms and two legs but you could tell it wasn't at the same time. Its frame was very emaciated looking and for a moment, I thought I was dealing with a coyote with a horrible case of mange. It was colored a dull gray all over its body and its fingers were huge claws… This thing crawled like an animal but it was humanlike… I have never seen anything like it before! I was frozen with disbelief and fear and this thing kept staring at me. Then it let out this god-awful, fucking screech and it approached me. I tried to hit it with the walking stick but it dodged the swing and grabbed it right out of my hands. For as skinny it looked, it was very strong. I turned and ran… While I ran, I struggled to get my pistol out of the halter but I had to dodge so many obstacles and also keep in mind that this thing was hot on my tail. I could hear it scuttle after me and I could hear its claws tear at the earth beneath us as it pursued me. At one point, it lunged at me and it knocked me to the ground. It started to claw at me but I put my arms up to my torso to protect my chest and face. It tore through the coat, as you can see… I remember slipping my legs underneath its skinny frame and kicking into its stomach with all my might. I managed to free myself from its grasp and I took off running again. I shot a few times at it and it howled in anger when I managed to get a hit. But there was no way in Hell I was going back to see if I killed it. I ran and ran and ran…must've been a mile and a half and then I made it to the truck. And here I am now."_

After he had wrapped up the tale, Margo and Quinn had no idea what to say. They were left in the same amount of disbelief and terror as he was in. They had no idea what to make of it or offer an explanation as to what the creature was that attacked James. The family decided to remain calm and indoors for the rest of the day to give Mr. Snyder some peace of mind.

Quinn sat up in her bedroom, reflecting on the startling appearance of her father a few hours earlier. She was still unnerved by what had happened to him and she didn't know what to think. Her father was wildlife officer and if he didn't know what was in nature reserve ten miles out of town, then no one knew. If he didn't know what had attacked him, she certainly had no idea either. Whatever it was though, she hoped no one in her family would ever cross paths with such a monstrosity again. She hoped that her father would even be able to return to his post.

Her cell phone chimed. Quinn picked up her phone from her nightstand and saw that she received a text message. It was from her classmate and friend, Kimberly. Sighing, the fifteen year old girl read the message.

'_Kay, so I got Jackie to come too. Don't know how I got that to happen since she's such a big chicken…'_

Chuckling, Quinn began to type her reply.

'_Oh, good. I'm glad you convinced her to join us. The more the merrier! I'm so excited too!'_

After sending her message, Quinn set her phone down on the nightstand again. She held her pillow to her body and looked at the digital alarm clock that shared the same nightstand as her cellular device. It was eight thirty. Already, she felt tired and ready to turn in for the evening. Even though it was her father who was the most traumatized out of the three of them, she felt terribly stressed herself because she very may well have lost him that day. Quinn had valued and loved her parents dearly and she couldn't even bear to think about losing either of them.

She also kept racking her brain, wondering over what had attacked her father. Her guess would've been a rabid and mangy animal but when he noted that it looked human, Quinn found herself perplexed. Judging from the account, the only conclusion she came up with was that a hairless chimpanzee was running freely and dangerously in the woods. But it didn't explain the long claws her father had nearly been eviscerated by. Now, she was just drawing a blank…

The nature reserve her father had frequented and maintained never had any encounters or reports of unknown or exotic animals roaming about. In fact, it was rather uneventful and peaceful up until a few hours earlier. It was a stark contrast to the infamous and barred woodlands that was a forty minute drive from her house.

Nine years ago, she was plucked up from the local playground by a drifter (who had ended up being a serial rapist who specialized in abducting and violating children, sometimes killing them. He was also wanted in several states for his heinous crimes) and taken to those woods, which had been aptly named Dead Woods by her fellow townspeople. That area had been given that name due to the fact that many people who went into those woods never came back out. If they were ever seen again, they were often discovered violently mauled or had emerged completely insane who later took their own lives or faded away into obscurity in mental institutions. Either way, whoever went in there were guaranteed a death sentence sooner or later. Dead Woods was actually a part of a larger forest that was a state park. But due to the disturbing number of deaths and strange occurrences that happened there, it was blocked off. Her father had worked in the unrestricted sector of the forest but his supervisor vehemently forbade him from crossing over into Dead Woods. Signs were posted up where these woods began, warning all of the unseen and unexplainable dangers it held. Fences were even constructed but it still didn't prevent some very suicidal, very brave or very dumb people from breaching the barrier.

Quinn had a mixed set of feelings whenever she thought about those dark and deadly woods. A part of her never wanted to venture there because she briefly remembered being held there by her captor and she had heard so many horrible stories that consisted of its wanton mythos. There were rumors of a human-like creature that hid amongst the trees and hunted whoever crossed into his domain. He was believed to the source of all the murders and disappearances. Those who did survive Dead Woods often ranted and raved about a tall, slender, suited, faceless man who lurked in the woods and relentlessly pursued them. The teenager naturally had no desire to meet such an evil and dangerous entity but she was also tempted to explore the woods simultaneously. She wondered if perhaps there was something hidden in them that prompted the demon to hover around and safeguard it. She wanted to find out what exactly it was but she hoped she never would end up climbing over the long perimeter of fences and foraying into the grim area. Quinn had no desire to die this young.

Now it seemed that the woods her father was at earlier that day harbored a monster as well. It was unfair to her. However, she wasn't ready to call whatever attacked him a monster just yet…she felt as if she needed to see this thing herself and then make a judgment about it. Quinn hoped that her father would still let her and her friends go camping in the state park after this incident.

They were going to remain in a cabin within the zone of the park and not literally feet away from the fence that separated the Dead Woods from all of humanity. It was only going to be from Friday afternoon until Saturday morning and then they would head back to their homes and civilization. According to the machinations of herself and Kimberly, the camping trip would also include Jackie and another classmate of theirs, Brianna. It was going to be harmless and fun. All they had planned on doing was taking a hike, sitting around a campfire, chatting and then departing the next day.

Quinn was stirred from her thoughts when she heard a light knocking on her door. She gasped and turned her head around to face the source of the noise. Her parents stood in the doorway as they peeked through the crack in her door.

"Yeah?" she said, feeling idiotic for acting spooked.

"Quinn, do you mind if we come in and we have a chat with you for a little while?" Margo asked.

"I don't mind. Come in."

Her mother and father soundlessly pushed the door open and approached her side. They took a seat on her bed, joining their daughter. Silence persisted between the family members before James decided to speak a moment later.

"Quinn, I want to discuss your trip that you and your friends are planning on going on tomorrow…" he started.

"Dad, please don't cancel it!" she interrupted, immediately jumping to conclusions.

"Honey, listen to me for a minute, alright? Ever since you and your friend told me you wanted to rent one of the cabins for the night, I have always been a little…anxious about allowing you to go through that plan. But ever since I was attacked by that thing earlier, I've been second guessing with letting you girls go."

"It was at the nature reserve you work at and not the state park where we'll be camping at. Do you think it would leave the reserve and come to where we'll be at?"

"I don't know but it might happen. Quinn, something tells me this is creature is something we shouldn't be treating lightly. It almost killed me today." He paused for a moment. "But I have an offer for you."

"What's that?"

"I will only let you do this camping trip tomorrow if you let me join you. My coworker and I planned on staying in the cabin up the path from yours but since this thing is running free, I cannot let you and your friends stay in that cabin by yourselves. I would've also told you to deal with it and cancel the trip until things cleared up but I know you and Kimberly have been wanting to this for awhile now."

"You ought to thank your father for this," Margo added. "I still think this is a very bad idea but I agree with him too." She wrung her hands as nightmarish thoughts and memories ran through her head. Her daughter was going to be close to the area where she was found nine years earlier. The woman, like every other local in the town, was all too aware of the legends that gave Dead Woods the reputation it wielded. "Honey, don't you feel afraid that you're going to be back to where that man took you?"

"We're not going to Dead Woods," Quinn defended herself. "We're staying in the place where everyone goes to. It's safe." The young girl fell silent for a moment. "I know it feels weird that I'm going to be close to where the police found me. But I'm not six anymore. I'm fifteen now and I have to move on. The guy who took me is dead and he can't hurt me anymore. I'll be okay. As long as Dad is with us, his coworker and a big gun, we'll be just fine. It'll be one night."

Margo was surprised that she was even letting this come to pass. Ever since her daughter was found in those woods, she feared that the creature would target Quinn and snatch her away. Yet the years passed and she never mentioned anything to her parents about a strange, faceless man wearing a tuxedo. Mrs. Snyder's fears had died down a little as time went on but she still secretly stressed if he would ever enter Quinn's life. As far as she knew, the creature was quite unmerciful and did not care what age his prey was.

"Okay, it's a deal then," James finalized. "After you girls get done with school tomorrow, you'll grab your things and I'll drive you over to the camp site. We'll also accompany you on the hike too." He then frowned and gazed directly into his daughter's eyes. "Now, Quinn, listen to me…if this thing manages to find us, I want you girls to run. I don't want you to stick around and try to fight it back. I want you to run as fast as you can. I want you to run to the ranger station where there should be help."

The seriousness in his voice and the grave expression he was wearing on his face was frightening her a little. Her father hadn't been this severe in awhile. Quinn knew better than to disregard his warning and orders if the thing that attacked him had indeed hunted them down.

"I know this thing looked human somehow but it attacked like an animal," he went on. "I also sensed something about it…I think it is smart and I think it is capable of human intelligence. That's the feeling I'm getting about it. That's why I am so worried about this and why I'm talking these necessary precautions."

"I get it," Quinn swallowed nervously. Although he was frightening her a little, she leaned forward and hugged her father. "Thank you, Dad… I'm also very happy that you're still with us." She sniffled and a few tears seeped from her eyes. "I know I said it earlier when you came home but I'm just glad you're alive. I don't want to lose you or Mom."

(…)

For the first time in nine years, he felt a disturbance that threatened the solace and sanctity of his home. He knew this wasn't a human presence that was encroaching upon his woods but it was a presence nonetheless. It was something far more menacing and dangerous than any mortal. The essence that this intruder had was that of a monster. It had a dark aura surrounding it that hinted to him that it had an evil heart.

With an eyeless stare, Slenderman looked off into the distance where he felt the presence come closer. It was coming closer to his woods but it was not entering them just yet. From what he could sense, it was travelling along the perimeter, almost as if it had known that he was the owner of these woods and was treading along cautiously. He could feel that his visitor was powerful; powerful enough to possibly put up somewhat of a fight for him. It would provide much more of a fight than a human could ever give him.

This unexpected development was something he most certainly didn't foresee coming anytime soon. It had been a long while since he last crossed paths with a being as nightmarish and predatory as he was. As long as Slenderman kept monitoring the movements of the creature, it became more and more familiar. He had met this entity before. Tentacles involuntarily flickered from his back as anger slowly seethed and built up within him. They had stolen kills from him before and a few times, they had fought over such an issue. Their rivalry had in fact extended back several hundred years…

However, his enemy wasn't posing an immediate threat as of yet. For now, he was standing outside the boundary yet inching along it slowly and calculatingly. As long as he would not enter his woods, Slenderman would do nothing. He would only intimidate the invader from afar. The tall one was also left wondering as to why the creature would stray so close to his territory. Perhaps, he was feeling emboldened and had wanted to seek revenge on him for the last squabble they got into about a hundred years earlier. Whatever the reason, Slenderman just wished he would just remain elsewhere and terrorize the humans there.

He continued to observe the movement of his fellow monster, realizing that he was now moving into the larger area of the state park. No doubt he was going to be butchering and terrifying any campers he decided to harass on this night. The creature might be disappointed though because no one had camped in this particular sector on this night. He hoped that this absence of victims would convince him to move on. Slenderman's supply of hapless humans would remain unspoiled and they would be free to foolishly venture into his woods without having to cross the paths of the clawed, animalistic demon.

The suited terror wanted to make sure that the visitor was fully aware of his presence as he was of his. He teleported and rematerialized at the fence the humans constructed as a feeble attempt to protect themselves from him. Slenderman leaned forward, his faceless visage nearly pressing up against the chain link fence.

"_Listen to me, you hideous, uncouth, treacherous and unworthy cretin,_" he called out. He hoped that the sudden, telepathic verbal assault would startle the visitor. "_I am more than aware of your presence and it is most unwelcome and unpleasant at best. I urge you to stay away from this fence and never cross over it…that is where I am. Any human who crosses into my territory is mine and you shall not pursue them. Perhaps, you should just move along altogether. I am not at all happy to sense you. Have you forgotten that I had won in our most previous duel? Move along and there will be no issues…_"

Slenderman could sense him only about a few hundred feet away. He was crouched low to the ground, moving a lot like a tiger engaged in the hunt. The taller demon could almost feel the other entity's black eyes boring into him with intense hatred and contempt. All he was doing was holding his ground now and peering at him from the choking darkness of the forest.

"_Ah, Slenderman, my good friend!_" The creature returned the gesture by continuing the conversation telepathically. "_It has been too long… How long has it been exactly? One hundred and eight years? I've lost track of time… Please, don't mind me. I'm just scouting the area out. I've crossed paths with a man earlier today and I let him get away because he intrigued me. Rest assured, the next time I see him, I will be sure to pull his intestines out through his mouth and strangle him with them._"

"_Whatever you do, you will do it a ways from here,_" Slenderman asserted. His tentacles writhed in mounting ire. "_I had to protect my home nine years ago when a filthy and lowly human brought a child here to violate her. I made an example out of him and if you proceed to act as offensively as he had, you will meet the same fate he had._"

The creature chuckled ever so softly. It sounded gurgled and gravelly.

"_What an impressive creature you are,_" it hissed sarcastically. "_You needn't worry, my old friend. I do not seek to breach your borders. For awhile, we shall be neighbors and I look forward to residing beside you…all the while giving you your own personal space. I know how possessive you are of things._"

"_You seek to undermine me and rob me of my prey,_" Slenderman corrected. "_You have always done that. That is what you live to do. Understand this… I am always vigilant over my woods and I often study the area of this forest where the humans frequent. I will know if you cross this petty barricade and when you do, I will show absolutely no mercy to you._"

"_Good. That is very good. I am a creature with very little mercy in my body as well. I have a reputation to uphold. I am the Rake after all…_"

The Rake ended the conversation on his terms. He scampered away into the dark, leaving Slenderman standing at the fence. Slenderman still remained focused on the presence as he placed more distanced between them. Then he teleported away from the Rake, deciding he no longer wanted to be in close proximity to him.


End file.
